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10 July 2006 : Column 1684W—continued
| Contracted prisons | |
| Prison name | Psychologist |
| (1 )No permanent staff, sessional staff as required | |
Mr. Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department (1) what mechanisms exist to monitor inmates’ cars parked at prison establishments to ensure that the vehicles are (a) legally registered as owned by the inmate claiming ownership and (b) displaying valid tax discs; and if he will make a statement; [78210]
(2) what proportion of inmates at HM Prison Latchmere House are currently allowed to park their cars in the establishment’s car park; and if he will make a statement. [78211]
Mr. Sutcliffe: There are no mandatory instructions on how to monitor cars belonging to prisoners. Each establishment requires prisoners to comply with the law. For example, at Latchmere House, vehicle registration documents must be in the prisoner’s own name and have the address as Latchmere House. Documents are kept in prisoners’ valuables and an application must be made, with a reason, for any withdrawals. The tax disc is photocopied and a renewal date entered on the car document log which is checked monthly by the Job Club to ensure tax is still current. Thirty prisoners, as at 16 June 2006, use the establishment’s car park, out of a population of 169.
Mrs. Gillan: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department which prisons have been re-roled since 1997; how many prison places there are in each establishment; when the re-roling took place; and what the cost of re-roling was. [79709]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 22 June 2006]: The following table provides details of prisons that have changed function since 1997, including number of places at the time of the change. It does not include individual wings or prisons that have changed their security category but retained their previous function. Information on change of function costs is not available as accounting records do not identify these separately from other operating costs.
| Prison | Year | Changed from | Changed to | Number of places |
Mr. McLoughlin: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners have escaped from HMP Sudbury in Derbyshire in the last year for which figures are available; what the (a) offence and (b) sentence of each absconder was; what the remaining length of sentence was of each absconder; how many have been caught; and if he will make a statement. [79992]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 26 June 2006]: Seventy-six prisoners absconded from Sudbury open prison during 2005-06, the latest year for which data are available. Of these 14 remain unlawfully at large. Details of each absconder’s offence and sentence could be obtained only by examination of each prisoner’s record at a disproportionate cost.
Mr. Paul Goodman: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many inmates who absconded from (a) all open prisons and (b) Spring Hill open prison since 1999 have not been recaptured; and how many of those who absconded committed further crimes before being apprehended. [80312]
Mr. Sutcliffe [holding answer 26 June 2006]: Information for all open prisons is available since 1997. As at 24 May 2006, 357 prisoners remained unlawfully at large from those who had absconded from open prisons in England and Wales between 1 April 1997 and 31 March 2006. As at 22 June 2006, 29 prisoners remained unlawfully at large from those who absconded from Springhill open prison between 1 April 1999 and 31 March 2006. Information is not held centrally on further offences committed by absconders while unlawfully at large.
Mr. Garnier:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many (a) Prison Service
Instructions and (b) Prison Service Orders were issued without being published in each of the last nine years for which figures are available. [81204]
Mr. Sutcliffe: Prison Service Orders and Instructions are available to prisoners through prison libraries, unless their circulation is restricted on security or commercial grounds. Extant non-restricted Orders and Instructions are also published on the Prison Service website except for a few early examples for which no electronic copy exists. Hard copies of these can be obtained on request to Prison Service headquarters.
The numbers of restricted Instructions and Orders by year of issue are detailed in the table.
| The numbers of restricted Prison Service Instructions and Orders by year | ||
| Restricted circulation Prison Service Orders issued | Restricted circulation Prison Service Instructions issued | |
Mr. Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many spare places in open prisons were available in each of the last 10 years for which figures are available. [81207]
Mr. Sutcliffe: The information requested is set out in the table.
| Places available | |
Lynne Featherstone: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many prisoners under the age of 18 years are in each prison; what plans he has to transfer those individuals to specialist youth institutions; and if he will make a statement. [81515]
Mr. Sutcliffe:
The number of young people under 18 accommodated in each young offender institution (run by the Prison Service or private contractors) on 28 April (the most recent date for which figures are available) is set out in the following table. On the same date, 243 under-18s were accommodated in secure training centres
and 230 in secure children’s homes. These figures and those in the table were provided by the Youth Justice Board.
The Youth Justice Board has responsibility for deciding, on behalf of the Secretary of State, where young people serving detention and training orders are to be accommodated. The board’s decisions take account of the age and sex of the young person, his or her individual needs and where he or she normally lives. The Prison Service performs the same function in relation to under-18s sentenced to longer periods of detention. Young offender institutions, secure training centres and secure children’s homes are all specialist youth institutions, with staff who are trained in the needs of young people. The higher staff-to-trainee ratios in secure training centres and secure children's homes are more suited to the needs of younger trainees and those who are more vulnerable.
| Young people under 18 in young offender institutions as at 28 April 2006 | |
| Number | |
| (1) Woodhill is a high security establishment holding young people with category A status. Under-18s are held in a dedicated unit and follow the under-18 regime. (2) One of these young women is in the mother and baby unit and another in the detoxification unit. | |
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